Bag closing apparatus



AUS 19, 1958 w. R. PETERsoN BAG CLOSING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNOV. 21, 1955 WOMEO Aug. 19, 1958 w. R. PETERSON BAG cLosING APPARATUS 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21. 1955 UAIDMU UlNN INVENTOR. WL 1. /A M l?.srERsO/v. BY

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/l T7' ORNE H51 Allg- 19, 1958 w. R. PETERSON BAG CLOSING APPARATUS 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 2l. 1955 Q INVENToR. T/VL L. /A M PETERSON.

ray/gun- United States Patent 2,847,955 BAG CLOSING APPARATUS William R.Peterson, South Attleboro, Mass., assignor to St. Regis Paper Company,New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 21,1955, Serial No. 548,126

2 claims. (ci. 11a- 11) This invention relates to apparatus for closingbags and the like, the apparatus being more particularly adapted, a-mongother possible uses, to the closing of lled multi- `wall paper shippingsacks which Iare to be closed by .a sewn seam or series ofl stitchesextending along adjacent the upper end of the bag, the stitches beingusually accompanied by a tape folded over astride the end edges of thebag.

After bags of the above described type have been filled, sometimes bylthe use of automatic lling machinery, it is the practice to move themin upstanding position side by side in succession on a suitable conveyortoward and past a sewing machine for forming the sewn end closure, theapparatus if desired also including means for applying a folded-overtape supplementing the sewn seam in providing 'an 'appropriate closure.

Heretofore an excessive amount of manual attention has been necessarywith such equipment to insure that the bag tops approach the tapeapplying means and the sewing machine in proper position with theopposite side walls of the bag top attened together and with the endedges parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor, so that thesewn seam will be ystraight and uniformly spaced from the end edges, andfurther so that the end edges will iit snugly up in under the closuretape placed astride same. The problem becomes particularly diicult if,as is usually the case, the bags are formed with gussets along theirIsides so that the upper portions 0f the gussets have to be flattenedand properly positioned.

Various types of mechanical equipment have heretofore been proposed forsolving this problem, such as means for intermittently engaging the topsVof the bags for ilattening and advancing same toward the sewing machinewithout interfering with the proper action of the sewing equipment, butso far as is known, all these attempts have heretofore involved certainshortcomings such as the tendency for the bag top areas to becomeabraded or marred by engagement with the mechanical parts and failuresof the equipment reliably to position the top edges of the bagshorizontally in cases lwhere the edges initially are tilted eitherforwardly or rearwardly.

The present invention provides an arrangement which has operated quitesuccessfully in overcoming these problems by providing a means forurging the top edges of the bags up to a predetermined horizontalposition, whether or not such edges approach the equipment til-teddownwardly or upwardly, and without in any way interfering with thesmooth operation of the sewing machine or marring the bag surfaces. Atthe same time, provision is made for placing in position a closure tapeiitting snugly down astride the top end edges of the bags.

ln accordance with the invention, a series of the lled bags are carriedin upstanding position along on the conveyor, while the open mouthportions at the upper ends of the bags `are pressed ilat together in thenip of a pair of rollers -mounted on axes such that their peripherieswhere same engage the bags move forwardly and at an angle somewhatupwardly. The rollers cause the end edges of the bag to be moved upsnugly against and Within a horizontally extending member of invertedchannel-shaped cross-section. Means are provided to conduct a continuousstrip of tape and to fold same over astride such channel-shaped member,and thereafter directly astride the straightened bag top edges and4thence to the stitching machine. The rollers are so connected to drivemeans therefor that they will be free to turn faster than the drivemeans to allow `the bag tops to be pulled forward by the sewing machinewithout resisting the latter.

Other and more speciiic objects, features and :advantages of theinvention will appear from the detailed description given below, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of thisspecilication and illustrate by way of example the presently preferredembodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the assembly of apparatuscomprising the principal parts of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional `view looking upwardly substantiallyalong line 2 2 of lFig. l;

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially along line 3--3of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is :a sectional view 4 4 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 5 and 6 respectively show the bag engaging rollers in twodifferent conditions of operation.

Referring to Figs. l and 2 in further detail, ya conveyor which may beof any suitable known type is indicated at 10 upon which a succession offilled bags Ias at 11 are being advanced in spaced relation in thedirection indicated by the arrow at the conveyor and toward a sewingmachine as schematically indicated at 12. The filled bags may be comingfrom a suitable source, such as an automatic filling machine and as theyapproach the apparatus of the present invention, the opposed top wallportions as at 13 are in Ia more or less flattened condition and advancealong in contact with a guide plate 14 and then into the nip between apair of rollers 1S, 16 which may be substantially disc-shaped and havingsmooth peripheral surfaces for engaging the paper of the bag tops. Therollers as best shown in Figs. l and 4 are mounted on shafts 17 and 18respectively which shafts as shown in Fig. 1 extend along axes directlydownwardly and atan angle somewhat forwardly.

-It may be here noted that while the assembly of apparatus as shown inFig. 1 may give the appearance of standing vertically from up above thebag tops, yet preferably the ywhole assembly including the shafts 17 and18 and the sewing machine are tipped rearwardly I(i. e. away from theoperators side of the machine) at the Iupper portions thereof as will'be apparent from the crosstaken substantially along line sectional viewof Fig. 4. The positioning of the apparatus in this Way, tippedrearwardly for example by an angle of 20 to 30 to the vertical at itsupper portions, not only enables an operator standing in front of theequipment to more readily watch its operation, but `enables the bag tops13 to be urged and crowded up uniformly so that their edges will be onthe level of the desired horizontal line without necessitating any meanswhich will vertically lift any portion of the bag and its contents, suchlifting being avoided by the bending of the bag top portions at an anglerearwardly (i. e. away from the operator) as indicated in Fig. 4. Thusthe shafts 1'7 and 18 appear in Fig. 4 tipped rearwardly in the plane ofthat gure but only to the same extent that the whole assembly ofapparatus is tipped rearwardly.

Shaft 18 may be driven by suitable sprocket and chain means 19, 20 froma motor and reduction gear assembly, the outline of which is indicatedat 21. Shafts .sewing machine will engage 17 and 18 at their upper endshave loosely meshing pinion drive gears thereon at 22 and 22' wherebyshaft 17 is driven from shaft 18 and at substantially the same speed.Shaft 18 is journalled in bearing means formed ina bracket 23 whichbracket also forms a support for a bearing means 24 for shaft.17.Bearing means 24 as indicated in Fig. 1 is pivotally supported bypivotal points on screws 25, 26 carried by .the bracket 23. Just beneaththe level of these pivots a spring 27 is positioned toengage between aportion of bracket 23 and the lower portion of bearing 24 so as toyieldably urge the lower portions of shaft 17 and roller 15 towardroller 16 whereby the bag tops will be firmly pressed within the nipbetween the rollers.

The entire assembly of equipment may be mounted on a suitable supportVsuch as a metal plate 28, the various supporting brackets being suitablysecured to such plate.

The rollers and 16 are mounted on their shafts 17, 18 so as to be freeto turn with respect thereto at least for nearly one revolution.However, stop means are provided in the form of screws or the like 30,31 mounted in collars fixed to the shafts respectively and these screws,which may be referred to as dogs are adapted to come into engagementwith screws as at 32, 33 mounted on the rollers respectively, wheneverthe rollers are actually being driven by their shafts. Referring now toFig. 5, the rollers will normally be driven by their shafts when sameare rotated in directions indicated by the arrows in this ligure andwhen the parts are in the positionshere shown. That is, screws 30, 31will then come into contact with screws 32, 33 so that the rollers willbe positively driven. This occurs when there is nolbag top within thenip between the rollers andy also this occurs at times before a bag top13 has progressed far enough through the nip to have reached the sewingmachine. However, when, as indicated in Fig. 6, the bag top 13 hasprogressed further and is being pulled forwardly by the sewing machine,then the rollers by reason of their pressure contact with the rearportions of the bag top will tend to be rotating in advance of theirdrive means or in what might be termed a free-wheeling condition atwhich time the screws 32, 33 will be spaced from the screws 30, 31respectively through angles as indicated at a in Fig. 6, the degreeofsuch spacing depending upon the degree to which the average speed ofthe bag top through the sewing machine is exceeding the correspondingspeed of the drive means for the rollers.

I Thus the bag top advances to positions such as shown in Fig. 5 by therollers turning at a speed determined bytheir drive means. And since therollers engage the bag tops along lines extending upwardly andforwardly, ,the bag tops will tend to be pulled as they are advancedupwardly and forwardly to the desired position, as hereinafterexplained. Then, as the `bag rtops have advanced far enough so thattheir forward corners are taken into the sewing machine, they will thenbe pulled forward at a speed determined by the sewing machine ratherthan the -driven speed of the rollers, but as soon `as the trailing edgeof the bag top leaves the nip of the rollers, they will then be drivenonly by their drive shafts, that is to say, they will be restored to theangular positions with respect to their shafts, as indicated in Fig. 5,and so remain until the next bag top comes through and is engaged by thesewing machine.

While onl superficial consideration it might be assumed that theconveyor, the rollers and the sewing machine might all be positivelyinterconnected and adjusted to operate at exactly corresponding speedssuch that they will all engage the bag and tend to advance it atidenticallythe same. speed, yet in practice this should .not beaccomplished for the.- following reasons. First, `the andtend to,advance the bags intermittently and thus, if the bag top cannot besecondly, since there pulled forward by the machine freely upon eachstroke, then the rollers or any other means which engages or grips thebag tops will tend to mar or scratch the paper or interfere with propersewing action. Furthermore, there will inevitably be some irregularslippage of the bag tops with respect to the rollers depending upon thevarying positions at which the bag tops enter the roller nip. There willalso be varying inertia factors affecting the relative speeds of theparts due to the intermittent action of the sewing machine as well asthe engagement and release of each successive bag by the rollers. Thus,in accordance with the invention, the bag conveyor is preferably drivenat a predetermined speed depending upon the size of the bags and thenumber per minute which are to be closed. For example, with bags of atypical size, the conveyor may be driven to advance the bags at a rateof twenty bags per minute, the conveyor moving at the rate of about 40ft. per minute. Then, to insure that the sewing machine will at vno timebe crowded by reason of movement of bag tops too rapidly into themachine with consequent deflection and crumpling of the paper, thesewing machine is operated usually at a speedsuch as to tend to pull thebag tops forward at an average speed slightly faster than the speed ofthe conveyor, for example, about one percent faster. Meanwhile, thespeed of the rollers is adjusted so that the peripheral velocity at thenip thereof will be substantially faster than the speed of the conveyor.This is necessary for two reasons. First, the roller peripheries arepositioned at an angle so that they have to move faster than theconveyor by an amount such as to urge the bag tops horizontally forwardat a speed at least equal to the conveyor speed. And will be someslippage at the rollers, their driven speed should be adjusted stillfaster by a small amount. Although the drive speed for the rollers isthus made faster than the corresponding conveyor speed, yet the rollerdrive should be adjusted so that it will still tend to advance the bagtops at a speed slightly lower than the average speed at which thesewing machine tends to advance the bag tops, and so that the sewingmachine through the medium of the bag tops is free to advance therollers slightly ahead of the speed of their drive connections, thefree-wheeling drive connections to the rollers allowing their speed tobe controlled during the passage of each bag by the pulling of thesewing machine on the bag top. The drive connections for the sewingmachine, rollers and conveyor may be of any suitable known type readilyadjusted by trial to meet these requirements. v

Just as the bag tops pass the guide plate 14, they enter an invertedchannel-shaped member 35 mounted horizontally in xed position with itsapex within its ridge at the desired line along which the very top andedges of the bags travel as they enter the sewing machine, that is, thisline will be spaced above the level of the sewing machine needle at thesame desired distance as that of the sewn closure seam below the. topedges of the bag wall. The cross-sectional shape of the member 35 atsection line 3-3 is shown in Fig. 3. The entrance of the member 35 isbest shown in Fig. 2. One depending side portion of this member as at 36may be flared outwardly considerably to insure that the leading gussetededge of the bag tops will properly enter, whereas on the opposite sidethe depending portion 37 thereof may be positioned flush with guideplate 14 but flared at its lower edge. A portion of member 35 asindicated at 38 in Fig. l may be cut away to accommodate the rollers 15,16. Beneath these cutaway portions the depending portions 39 may beoutwardly flared as best shown in Fig. 2 to insure that the approachingbag edges will properly enter. It will be understood that the member 35may be suitably supported on the plate 38 as by bracket 40 (Fig. 4). Theforward end portions of the member 35 may extend 5 sllllljstantially toor into the entrance of the sewing Inac ne.

The means for applying the tape astride the top of the bag will now beexplained. Such tape, as indicated at 42, may be pulled down from asuitable source over rollers or spools 43, 44, thence into a tapefolding guide member 45, the cross-section `of which at section line 3 3is shown in Fig. 3. The entrance portions of this tape guide may besimilar to such guides as heretofore used for the purpose and as thetape becomes folded somewhat to the extent indicated in Fig, 3, itslower edge will slide into channel portions as at 46 formed on the loweredges of the guide. It will be apparent therefore that the tape will befolded over astride the bag top guide member 35. The tape guide andfolding means may be supported as by suitable bracket means 47 and bolts48 which in turn are supported through bracket means 49 from the plate38 (Fig. 2). At a point just preceding the point where the tape is toleave the guide 45, the member 35 is recessed as indicated at 50(Fig. 1) so that the tape guide here may discharge the tape incompletely folded-over condition rmly against the top end edges of thebag as same enter the sewing machine.

With the rollers positioned and operated as above de scribed, it hasbeen found that whether the bag tops approach the nip either at adownwardly or upwardly tilted angle, the rollers will quickly cause thetop edges to be thrust rmly and horizontally up against the apex withinthe member 35 and they will remain substantially in alignment with thisposition until they are sewn together by the sewing machine. Thus therollers and the member 35 act independently of the tape guide 45 tobring the top bag edges into proper position before the tape is appliedthereto and then the tape guide acts positively to bring the folded-overtape rmly down astride the thus accurately positioned edges as a nalstep just before the region of the sewing machine needle is reached.Accordingly, the tape will be accurately positioned without anysubstantial space between same and the top bag edges which would causewhat may be referred to as soft edges with which the closure would beless durable. Since the bag top edges are pressed rmly up into the rigidchannel shaped member and into horizontal position exactly parallel tothe desired line of sewing, the sewing seam will be formed paralle tothe bag top edges and at the proper distance therefrom and parallel tothe tape, even though before the bag tops reach this equipment they maybe in quite irregular positions.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is herein disclosed forpurposes of explanation, various modifications thereof, after study ofthis specification, may be apparent to those skilled in the art to whichthe invention pertains. Reference should accordingly be had to theappended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In apparatus for closing open-mouthed lled bags, the combinationcomprising a conveyor for conveying the bags in succession in upstandingposition, a pair of opposed rollers mounted above said conveyor inpositions to engage in a nip therebetween the top portions of the bags,means being provided for resiliently urging said rollers toward eachother, said rollers being mounted on axes which extend downwardly andforwardly with respect to the path of travel of the bags whereby theperipheries of the rollers engage the bag tops along lines extendingforwardly and upwardly, means for driving said rollers, a member ofinverted channel-shaped crosssection extending along and parallel to thedesired line of closure of the bag tops, said member forming a stopmeans which the top edges of the bags are caused slidably to engage byreason of the upward and forward thrusting action thereon of therollers, and means for guiding a continuing strip of tape and foldingover same astride said member and then astride the top end edges of thebag as the latter advance beyond said member.

2. In apparatus for closing open-mouthed filled bags, the combinationcomprising a conveyor for conveying the bags in succession in upstandingposition, a pair of opposed rollers mounted above said conveyor inpositions to engage in a nip therebetween the top portions of the bags,means being provided for resiliently urging said rollers toward eachother, said rollers being mounted on axes which extend downwardly andforwardly with respect to the path of travel of the bags whereby theperipheries of the rollers engage the bag tops along lines extendingforwardly and upwardly, rotational means for driving said rollers, therollers however being free to turn in advance of said rotational means,a fixed member of inverted channel-shaped cross-section extending alongparallel to the desired line of closure of the bag tops, said memberforming a stop means within which the top edges of the bags are causedslidably to engage by reason `of the upward and forward thrusting motionof the rollers, tape guide means for guiding a continuing strip ofclosure tape and folding same over and astride said fixed member ofinverted channel-shaped cross-section and then closely down upon, inengagement with and astride the top edges of the bag as the latteradvances beyond said fixed member and a closure forming mechanism intowhich the bag tops are then drawn.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSPeterson et al. Feb. 16, 1954

